To Seoul and back again.... and again. and again. and again.

Dear Family,

If this were the early 20th century and I were to send you a telegram, it would say this:

 

SO COLD. STOP. MY FACE IS SO COLD. STOP. IT MIGHT FALL OFF. STOP.

SINCERELY. STOP

YOUR DAUGHTER.

 

Luckily this isn't the early 20th century and I can send you emails instead of telegrams. It is really cold here. If you would like to send me knitted hats mom, I would be most appreciative. That package came at the perfect time. I needed that stuff this week.

 

This has probably been the most adventorous week of my mission thus far. I hope I can get all the good stories in.

 

Last week, it came to my attention that I was pronoucing the word missionary a little bit wrong. The word is sun-kyo-sa. I guess when I was saying it, the word sounded like sung-kyo-sa. Which, for lack a better term, means prostitute.... Now just think about how the meaning of this sentence changes if you switch out the word missionary for (cough cough) prostitute.

"Hi! We're missionaries! We are sharing a very happy message with people. Because we are foreign missionaries, we teach free English!"

No wonder I've had so many "no thank yous".

 

Last week, we went to a dinner appointment with the Elders. They had to meet us at a street corner to take us to the house. The door to the apartment was in an alley and it looked a little ... suspicious. It all turned out fine though. We met with the old RS president, her brother (our ward mission leader) and her husband. The food was very delicous as usual. I've come to expect nothing less from Korean meals. It was the couple that was my favorite part. People always ask what we studied before we came on our missions. I can never remember the word for art. Usually someone else pipes up for me. Sister Bush said art right as Elder Carter piped up. But instead of saying art, he said a word very close to art in Korean.... magic. I'm a wizard!!!!!!!!!! That made the couple and our ward mission leader laugh SOOOO hard. Later, Elder Carter tried to the dishes. But sister Ahn would not have it. Pandemonium erupted as Elder Carter took the dishes to the sink. Sister Ahn got up and started hitting Elder Carter with rubber gloves. She's about five feet. He's a little over six. The brother was just yelling at his sister to let Elder Carter do the dishes. Sister Bush and laughing our heads off. I don't think Elder Carter's companion really knew what was going on, but he was laughing too. The icing on the cake was the husband though. He was sitting in the corner slouched over. No one was paying any attention to him. Except for me. He looked over at me and then grabbed the rice syrup that was sitting on the table and started spooning mouthfuls into his mouth. It was so crazy! Dinner appointments are sooo funny here! Especially with the Elders.

 

The next day President called as said they were setting up a conference call with my surgeon in Provo to talk about my hip. It's actually been hurting quite a bit. But I'll be fine. Anywho, it was a huge conference call. President and Sister Furniss were on the line, as well as my surgeon Dr. Jackson, the area medical doctor in Japan, and a doctor from the Missionary Department in Salt Lake. It was cool to talk to so many people in so many different places at once.  They decided to send us up to the International hospital in Seoul.

 

Sister Bush and rushed to Seoul to see the doctor. But we got there a half an hour too late. :0( I was devastated. The only thing that could've soothed my troubled spirit would be to partake of the deliciousness known as Taco Bell. We started walking around to look for it when Sister Bush turned to me and said, "I don't think we're going to have Taco Bell today. I'm not going to drag your broken hip all over Seoul." I thought I was going to cry. No severance for my hip (the name of the hospital is severance. whenever a missionary goes to the hospital, we call it getting severance), and no taco bell! I didn't know what was more devasting. I begged Sister Bush to let us turn one more corner. And then, in the distance I saw it! I imagine my joy was akin to the Willie and Martin hand cart companies seeing the Salt Lake Valley for the first time. (Not to be sacreligious or anything)

I've never been so happy to eat a burrito in my life.

 

We had to go back this morning to see the doctor. He sent me to another Korean doctor that specializes in hips. For the record, Korean hospitals are NOTHING like Grey's Anatomy. They told me that I needed an MRI. Which means we head back up to Seoul tomorrow. And then again next week to see the results. Today, they drew a bunch of blood. And made me take x-ray's in all sorts of weird positions. The funniest part of that is when I changed. For some reason, I didn't understand the technician when he told me where the bottoms were to the little hospital outfit I had to put on. So, I just walked out in the little top and nay but my under garments, figuring that that was just the way they did things in Korea. It was only after the whole ordeal was finished that I realized there were shorts that went with the little outfit, but I hadn't see to put them on. How embarrassing.

 

Things may be a little rough going right now, but I don't know if I've ever been this happy in my life. President asked me during interviews last week what I do when I get frustrated. I told him that there's something I learned from Elder Hale's last conference talk "Waiting Upon the Lord". Elder Hales explains that trials are experinces we go through in which we can choose to follow the Savior or not. No matter what I go through right now. I have two choices: to either follow the Savior and do what Heavenly Father asks of me, or not. The doctors and President Furniss mentioned now and then about me going home if things don't work out with my hip. The only response I have to that is that they'll have to drag me out of here breathing my last dying breath before I give up on this. I love it too much here. There's too many people to love and share the message of the gospel with.

 

Speaking of, I need to get going! There's a lot to get done today.

 

Love you all much!

 

Westrup 자매

Transfer 2 Week 1: In which Sister Westrup discovers what it's like to be a red head for a day

I think the only down fall to Sister Bush and and being companions is that we prey on each other's spontaneous impulses. Well, I don't prey so much on Sister Bush's as she preys on mine. For example, this last week and turned to Sister Bush and said, "I think I should dye my hair."

"YES! Let's do it!!!!!"

"I've always wondered what I would like as a red head... What do you think?"

"Yes! Let's do it! I love dying hair."

 

So, in a brief lapse of judgement, I decided that it would be a good idea to dye my hair red. Not a crazy red. The box said the color was "Grape Wine". That should've tipped me off that it was a mistake. But, dye my hair we did. Sister Bush is indeed very skilled at dying hair, and did quite a fantastic job. What we didn't account for was the black color in my hair from this summer that is beginnging to grow out. After we were finished, I blowed dried my hair and turned to Sister Bush. "How does it look?" I asked. "I don't know sister... It's hard to say." WHAT HAD I DONE? I ran to the bathroom mirror. It actually didn't look too terribly awful (in the light of our apartment). And then, in another lapse of judgement, I pulled my hair over my eyes and bgan wishing that I had bangs again. To which Sister Bush replied, "I can cut some for you." As she cut them, I asked if she had ever cut hair before. "Once..... When I was 8. My sister's hair was never the same," she replied.

 

My bangs are actually fine. But the hair color was a problem. In the sun light, it was ok. But when we met the the elders at the church, I looked in the mirror and realized that in most light, there was a huge line in the middle of my bangs. Red hair on top. Black on the bottom. Everyone assured me that it didn't look that bad. But I knew the truth. I have eyes. I can see. I suppose that I should also mention that we have President interviews tomorrow..... That's right. I looked like a crazy pants (which isn't too unusual for me probably) but I knew I couldn't go to President interviews with half red hair.

 

So we dyed it back to black Saturday night. Just in time for church the next day. Oh the straights I get myself into....

 

And now for some miracles of the week!

We were door knocking in some apartments. Which isn't the most effective way to find new investigators, but it's the warmest, and the least intimidating. We knocked on this one door and Sister Bush began talking (in Korean of course), "Hi! We're missionaries serving in the area. We have a very happy message that we are sharing with all people about how we can live with our families for eternitiy. Do you have a few minutes so that we could introduce our message more?" The lady said yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, we told here about our English/gospel program, and she agreed to meet with us the next day. When we went back, her sister was with her, and they said that we could start teaching both of their families. eaewhaoewh oehfp aoierhp aoihrpa hgihq9348 hgrhi g It's so exciting! I can't even type in English words!!!!!!

 

There's a girl about our age that's been coming to English class for a couple of weeks now. The Elders gave us our number, and when we tried to meet with her one on one, she wasn't interested. So, she's just been coming to English class. Last week, we had a really fun English class (mostly thanks to Sister Bush, she has the best games). I knew after class that I just had to ask her if she wanted to meet with us one on one. And when I asked her, she was totally excited and she really wanted to meet with us. New investigator!!!!!!!!!!!

 

And then, there is another girl we met on Saturday (my purple/red hair day). Her English name is Jane, and she was a referral from the Elders. She wants to practice English. So we talked with her a little bit and explained that we can meet one on one and teach English for 30 mins, and then gospel for 30 mins. She said she liked that and that she wants to meet with us!!!!!!! And she said her hobby is volunteer work, but she's frustrated because there aren't many volunteer opportunites in Suwon that she can find.... (insert sneaky Sister Westrup smile here) Oh boy! Have we got some volunteer opportunities for her!!!!!!!!

 

Things are so busy, we really don't have much time to proselyte. It's crazy! That never happens in Korea.

My hip is doing alright. I've actually been in touch with the area doctor about it. He's supposed to call us today to ask more about it. I might have to get some tests done. But that will be ok because I'll most likely go to Seoul. Which would not only be really fun, but it would mean that Sister Bush and I could stop at Taco Bell. (I don't think that last part needs any explanation on why that would feel my soul with such joy)

 

We're having some trouble getting our investigators to church. The older lady just got a job working nights. She doesn't get off work until just before church starts. The Koo sisters have family coming in from China this month. It's rough. I'm praying for some miracles this next week.

Oh! That reminds me! Next week is the lunar new year. Everything is going to be close so we won't be able to email until next Wednesday at the earliest. I don't think we have any special plans. Yet. We're hoping for a dinner appointmet... We'll see.

 

Only a few pictures this week. There's giant gates all over Suwon! We walk by them every day. This one is on the way to emailing. The dragons are painted on the roof, and there's one picture of me, and one of Sister Bush.

 

 

That's all for this week! The gospel is true! Don't forget to share it with everyone around you!

 

웨스트럽 자매

2nd Transfer, Week 1 In which Sister Westrup sings publically for the first time

Okay, so I'm a little behind in sharing Sister Westrup's letters.  But I'm catching up.

Dear Family,

 

As I mentioned last P-day, our district gathered for a meat buffet. It was a special occasion because of transfers. Our district didn't change too much. Just one Elder got transferred to another area in our district. So, nothing to exciting. The meat, however, was DELICIOUS! There's just tons of uncooked meat set out. You bring it to your table and then you cook it there. It's really more of an Elder activity I think. Sister Bush and I decided on the way home that Sisters just don't really go out to stuff their faces with as much meat as possible. Nevertheless, it was mighty tasty.

 

Every week on Wednesday night, we have an English class at the church. Sister Bush and I were in charge of giving the spiritual thought. Sister Bush is quite musical. As most people have come to find out by the excruciating pain in their ears that comes any time I try to belt out a tune, I cannot sing at all... This particular week, we had more people at English class than every before. They had no idea what they were in for. Sister Bush and I stood up to sing at the end of the class. My knees were shaking. And I felt like I was going to vomit. But just as with speaking Korean, I've found that whenever I open my mouth to share my message, Heavenly Father blesses me, and it's all ok. We sang I am a Child of God. One verse in English, one in Korean. I think it really touched people. It was a miracle! I sang in front of people! That night, we got a lunch invitation to meet with a lady whose been coming to English class for the past 10 years. She's been taught all the lessons, mulitiple times even! But she just won't get baptized. It was a miracle that she invited us! We're going to try our best to work with her, but not be overwhemling. (When we were singing I am a Child of God, she was mouthing all the words... in English) She's basically a member of the church already.

 

We've had to move back our baptismal dates again! It's so devastating! The sisters love us, and they keep all of their committments, EXCEPT coming to church. We've corraled one of the YSA into "fellowshipping" her. Really, we just want them to get married. But more than that, we just want her to come to church. I think they might invite us over this next week for dinner. That is perfect because we've only been teaching them at the church. If we can find out where they live, we'll just go pick them up before church. They'll have to come.

 

In other news, Sister Bush is a riot! I love her so much! We laugh all the time. Missionary work is so fun with her! When we go door knocking, she'll do the funniest things in between doors, and I have to try so hard not to laugh out loud as we share our message with people.

 

We also started a contest with some Elders in our district to see who could be done with Pass-off first. Pass-off is just a little program our mission has to memorize sentences for each lesson (or discussion if you're old school... Dad). This Elder is a transfer ahead of me. We discovered last week that we were in the same lesson, even though he's been here for two months longer than I have (because of the whole delayed in the MTC thing). So, me and my big mouth decided it would be a good idea to challenge him and see who could be done first. The loser has to buy the winner ice cream. I've been working like crazy trying to memorize sentences. I did 18 in one day last week. But he's still ahead... BOO!

 

This week we've focused more on reading the Book of Mormon with our investigators. There's something special when you read the Book of Mormon in a group setting. You can gain insights and feel the Spirit in a way that's so unique. It's hard to explain unless you try it for yourself. So, that's my challenge this week. Read the Book of Mormon with each other this week! Even if it's only a few verses. I know that when we read the Book of Mormon with those we love, our love for them will only continue to grow deeper and stronger, and our understanding of our divine identies will increase. Funny how those two things always correlate huh?

 

Today Sister Bush and I are going to do some shopping, and then get ice cream (this is beginning to not only become a pday tradition, but an every day tradition).

 

Alright family, I think that's it for today!

 

Love you!

웨스트럽 자매

The Greenie Transfer Email

So, we finally found a place to email without the dangers of evil security guards breathing down our necks. RIght now I'm seating in the comfort of a little cafe called cafe bene, sipping on citrus honey tea, trying (albeit unsucessfuly) not to listen to the jazz music playing.

This first transfer has been INCREDIBLE. I can't believe how blessed I've been with my trainer, our investigators, our district, and the ward members.

 

My trainer is such a good missionary. Even if we have to walk a little slower, or take buses instead of walking places, she is always doing missionary work. She's so positive and happy, people listen to her, even if they were stand offish at first. I'm trying to be more like her! But I still get a little nervous to take to people.

 

Our investigators are so golden! I know that may sound like a cliche thing that people say. But it's true! The Koo sisters that I've mentioned before had to have their baptismal dates pushed back a little bit. They weren't able to come to church because of the holidays. The little sister is exactly like Rachel, only Korean. She totally loves having time with the missionaries all to herself. The older sister is the BEST. I always get a little nervous teaching her, wondering when we'll teach something that will be hard, or that she just won't accept. But she always accepts everything. She asks questions, and when she prays, it's so beautiful. She has such faith. She lived in China for the past 10 years, so she's fluent in Chinese. I've been searching for a picture of the Hong Kong temple for the past couple weeks to show her. I finally found one and I'm so excited to show her! She lights up when we teach her. There's this spark of recognition, and I know that the truth of what we're teaching her, and the Spirit, speaks to her soul in way that nothing else in her life has before. She knows it's true. All of it.  When we taught her about modern day prophets this last week, she just kept nodding and saying, "This makes so much sense. If God had propehts in the Bible, of course he would have them today." She totally wants to get married in the temple. But she's had this boyfriend. My companion and I were scheming different ways to get rid of him, and then she told us during our last lesson that they had broken up the night before! Yes! We didn't even have to pray for it. Now we're picking out eligible members in the ward for her to marry. We also told her this at the last lesson, and she's all for it.

 

The members here are so great about helping out when we need it. Yesterday, we had the most delicious dinner appointment yet. The dad is a cook. And the food was just incredible! One of the sons got back from a mission in Pusan pretty recently, so he's always willing to help out with lessons (we've picked him out for the older Koo sister, although neither of them know it yet). Since I'm still a greenie, they all think my horrible Korean is adorable. And the dad's speciality, cheen bang, is my favorite food. He said he'd totally make some for us. I had no idea that's what he said until after the dinner when my companion was talking about it. She thought I had understood because I was nodding my head and saying yes to everything he was saying. That happens a lot around here.

 

In the MTC, the branch president's wife, Sister Shin, would always talk about how we would eventually have kim-chee for breakfast if we were dedicated missionaries. I haven't eaten kim-chee for breakfast, YET. But I'm beginning to crave it all hours of the day. And I think that the morning I eat kim-chee for breakfast won't be too far away.

 

I'm obessessed with the food here. It's SSOOOOOOO SOOOOOOO delicious. I don't even know if I can describe in words how fulfilling it is. We have another investigator (who came to church yesterday! yay!) that fed us the BEST meat. I stuffed my face. Koreans are so funny. They will never let you stop eating until all the food is gone.... I'm totally fine with that....

 

We have a couple other investigators. The one that came to church yesterday is great. She's a fun lady, in her mid-50's. But she lives alone. She asked us in the first lesson if she would have friends if she came to church. UM YES! of course you'll have friends. She really liked Relief Society. Who doesn't?! Relief Society is the best!

 

Well, we're meeting our zone for some sort of meat buffet soon. So I should probably get going. It's supposed to be really delicious. I'll take notes so I can describe it to the boys in full detail next email.

 

Christmas sounded fun! Crystelle and Russell's skit sounded hilarious! I knew I had to have at least one sibligh that wasn't lame and could do something creative at Christmas.

I'll keep Elder Carlson in my prayers. I don't know how hard it is to go home, but I know how hard it is to be in the hospital when you're a missionary.

Tell Aunt Geri I'm praying for her too! She sounds like she's just trooping through everything! Is there anything they want from Korea?

 

Ok, I really do have to be going now!

Love you!

웨스트럽 자매